Tag: LNG

The 20-million-gallon Lily Dam, one of the two unlicensed dams for which Progress Energy received retroactive exemption from environmental review. Photo by Ben Parfitt.

In an earlier post I had noted that Progress Energy, now known as PETRONAS Canada had been accused of building two massive unlicensed dams in violation of provincial environmental regulations. It has since been reported that that British Columbia’s Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) allowed these massive unauthorized dams to be exempt from environmental assessments. According to Ben Parfaitt in Policy Note these dams had previously been described in internal documents of the very same EAO as being ‘illegal works’. This is a disturbing precedent because there are other unlicensed dams in the gas fields of Northern BC that stand to be given the same kind of retrospective exemption. This move by the EAO is indicative of the dominance of corporate interests generally, and PETRONAS’ imperatives in particular, within the provincial administrative process.

According to the Globe and Mail, the B.C. Sierra Club, which is a conservation group, is suing the British Columbia government to get these retrospective exemptions revoked. Olivia French, the lawyer representing the B.C. Sierra Club has stated that “Progress Energy acted with a bit of disregard for B.C.’s laws — one of those typical, ‘Ask for forgiveness, not for permission’ sort of positions.” As Green Party MLA Sonia Furstenau has said that the EAO’s decision to grant Progress’s extraordinary request for retrospective exemption fuels public distrust of the relationship between government and the powerful industries it regulates.

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While the province of British Columbia endorses extensive fracking activities in the course of its LNG industry, environmental and health & safety concerns are being acknowledged by a growing number of national governments around the world. In June 2017 the Irish parliament passed legislation that outlaws this resource extraction technique. According to EcoWatch. Ireland follows France, Germany and Bulgaria in legislating against fracking. Tony McLoughlin, who introduced the legislation as a private member’s bill is reported to have said, “If fracking was allowed to take place in Ireland and Northern Ireland it would pose significant threats to the air, water and the health and safety of individuals and communities here. Fracking must be seen as a serious public health and environmental concern for Ireland”. Either he is wrong or the province of British Columbia is is well down the wrong track!

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On July 13 2018, LNG Canada formally welcomed PETRONAS as their fifth Joint Venture participant. According to Energycity.ca “Petronas is now an official partner in the consortium that is proposing to build a $40 billion liquified natural gas export terminal in Kitimat”. Petronas subsidiary Progress Energy will take a 25 percent stake in the LNG Canada development, which is still subject to regulatory approvals. Shell will lead the consortium with a 40% stake. The other partners are PetroChina, Mitsubishi Corp. and Kogas Canada. As I noted in a previous post there are implications for national, trans-national relationships and intra-national relations. This investment will be closely aligned with the Coastal GasLink pipeline that TransCanada is building to transport the natural gas from Dawson Creek to Kitimat. Some members of the Wet’suwet’en nation of Canada have built a healing camp in the path of the pipeline. To acknowledge the changing scenarios in Malaysia and in BC I have changed the colours that brand this blog.

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If PETRONAS goes ahead with its new LNG Terminal investment in BC, the Malaysian crown corporation will hold a 25% stake in LNG Canada’s CAD $ 40 billion project. This investment will be closely aligned with the Coastal GasLink pipeline that TransCanada is building to transport the natural gas from Dawson Creek to Kitimat. A further enmeshment to note that much of the natural gas will come from PETRONAS’ own North Montney fields. All the parties involved in this set of developments, the corporations, the provincial government and the federal government have their eyes on the burgeoning Asian market for the LNG .

There remain, however, some unresolved and under reported conflicts with First Nations in connection with both the terminal and the pipeline. Although there are reportedly signed benefit agreements with 19 of the 20 First Nations involved, there is some entrenched opposition. Some members of the Wet’suwet’en Nation have built the Unist’ot’en healing camp in the path of the pipeline. So once again, the interests of the exemplary Malaysian bumiputra (indigenous) led enterprise is contrary to the those of a group of indigenous peoples from British Columbia.

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Having given up its bid to lead BC LNG Terminal investments with a mega plant on Lelu island, PETRONAS seems unwilling to be left out. On the 31st of May 2018 PETRONAS owned Progress Energy announced that another PETRONAS wholly-owned entity, the North Montney LNG Limited Partnership (“NMLLP”), “has entered into a Purchase and Sales Agreement for an equity position in the LNG Canada project in Kitimat, British Columbia, Canada”. Pending regulatory approvals and associated agreements, the composition of ownership in this ‘LNG Canada’ project will be PETRONAS (through NMLLP), (25%); Shell Canada Energy, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc (“Shell”), (40%); PetroChina Canada Ltd. (15%); Diamond LNG Canada Ltd., a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation, (15%); and Kogas Canada LNG Ltd. (5%).

Before PETRONAS joined this consortium, Chris Newman of Energeticcity.ca, had reported that industry analysts consider the project to be a long shot. Yet in an even earlier article in Energeticcity.ca (also by Newman), B.C.’s Premier John Horgan, is reported to have said that the project will proceed “It has all of its permits in place, has social license from First Nations in the region, has the support of the community, and is waiting for economic conditions to turn around”.

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On Friday, 20th October, a totem pole carved by Tsimshian artist Phil Gray of a wolf and an orca fin was ceremoniously erected on Lelu Island British Columbia to commemorate the victory of the resistance against the PETRONAS/ provincial government of British Columbia/ Federal government of Canada plans for a massive LNG terminal. According to Ian Gill in his article in the Tyee Gwishawaal Ken Lawson, a house leader of the Gitwilgyoots tribe said modestly, “It’s a small pole, but the wolf is here,” Ken Lawson jointly claims stewardship rights and responsibilities on Lelu Island with Simoyget Yahaan, Don Wesley for the Tsimshian First Nation. In the course of the proceedings, Don Wesley, who publically led the resistance to protect the island and the Skeena watershed, was presented with a copper shield by Guujaaw, the leader of the Haida Nation to acknowledge his resistance.

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According to the Nikkei Asian Review, Progress Energy, a subsidiary of Malaysia’s Petroliam Nasional (PETRONAS) has just put its oil and gas assets in Deep Basin, Alberta up for sale. Given this upcoming sale and also the cancellation of their massive Pacific Northwest LNG project on Lelu island, British Columbia, it appears that Progress Energy and PETRONAS will be concentrating their future Canadian investments and activities in North Montney, British Columbia. Progress Energy claims that it is the largest holder of contiguous areas of land in Montney and that over 13,000 drilling locations have been identified of which about 215 wells have been drilled.

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About this Blog

Can information flow in the wake of global capital to create truly transnational communities of contestation and accord?

Malaysian oil and gas giant, the PETRONAS Group of Companies is a dominant investor in the British Columbian LNG sector. While Malaysia is undergoing a social and financial crisis of its own, these Malaysian investments have given rise to tribal, territorial, economic and environmental contestations here in BC. Do Canadians have a perspective on Malaysia? Are Malaysians aware of economic, environmental or territorial contestations in Canada?

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